After man spends 2.5 years in jail…Woman presumed ‘murdered’ by him found alive

Mandya: In a shocking case highlighting alleged lapses in police investigation, a man from Pandavapura in Mandya district spent nearly two-and-a-half years in prison on a murder charge before the woman believed to have been killed was found alive. The discovery has raised serious questions about the investigation and the alleged use of coercion to obtain a confession.

The case dates back to 2019, when a woman identified as Manju went missing from Pandavapura town. Her father, Nagaraju, subsequently lodged a missing-person complaint at the Pandavapura police station.

During the investigation, police reportedly found that Manju had made her last phone call from the mobile phone of Rajesh, whom she had met by chance at the Pandavapura bus stand shortly before disappearing. Based on this lead, police registered a murder case against Rajesh, a resident of Ragimuddanahalli, nearly two years after her disappearance. Rajesh was arrested and remained in prison from 2021 for about two-and-a-half years. He was released on bail in January 2024.

Serious allegations have since emerged regarding the manner in which the investigation was conducted. Rajesh reportedly alleged that police subjected him to physical torture and forced him to confess to a crime he had not committed. He claimed that he was kicked with boots, given electric shocks and threatened that his family members would also be arrested if he did not admit to the murder.

The conduct of the then Pandavapura police inspector, Prabhakar, has also come under scrutiny following these allegations. The case took an unexpected turn when Manju was traced alive in Nagamangala town. Her whereabouts were reportedly established following information received by Rajesh’s advocate, Natesh, who helped locate her.

Manju was subsequently handed over to the Bindiganavile police, who recorded her statement. She reportedly told the police that she had left her home because her family had arranged a marriage against her wishes. She said she had since married another man and was living with him. She also reportedly stated that she did not know Rajesh.

Her discovery alive has cast serious doubt on the murder allegations against Rajesh and brought the original investigation under fresh scrutiny. The development has raised questions about how a missing-person case came to be treated as a murder, whether the evidence against Rajesh was adequately verified and why investigators failed to establish Manju’s whereabouts before filing the case.

The allegations of custodial torture and forced confession have added another dimension to the controversy. The circumstances in which Rajesh spent years behind bars, despite the woman being alive, are likely to invite demands for accountability.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Hans India